India's First Woman Saint ?

Francois Gautier, PioneerIndian media went into a tizzy while covering the canonisation of Sister Alphonsa, an obscure nun, to prove its secular credentials! Indian journalists forget that this country has had other women saints too.As a Frenchman, I was coached right from childhood that logic, what we in France call cartesianism, is the greatest gift given to man and that one should use one's reason to tread in life. Thus, I taught to my students in a Bangalore school of journalism, the SSCMS, that the first tool of a good reporter is to go by his or her own judgement on the ground, with the help of one's first-hand experience — and not go by second hand information: What your parents thought, what you have read in the newspapers, what your caste, religion, culture pushes you into…Yet in India, logic does not seem to apply to most of the media, especially when it is anything related to Hindus and Hinduism. One cannot, for instance, equate Muslim terrorists who blow up innocent civilians in market places all over India to angry ordinary Hindus who attack churches without killing anybody. We know that most of these communal incidents often involve persons of the same caste — Dalits and tribals — some of them converted to Christianity and some not.However reprehensible was the destruction of the Babri Masjid, no Muslim was killed in the process. Compare that with the 'vengeance' bombings of 1993 in Mumbai, which killed hundreds of innocent people, mostly Hindus. Yet Indian and Western journalists keep equating the two, or even showing the Babri Masjid destruction as the most horrible act of the two.How can you compare the Sangh Parivar with the Indian Mujahideen, a deadly terrorist organisation? How can you label Mr Narendra Modi a mass killer when actually it was ordinary middle class, or even Dalit Hindus, who went out into the streets in fury when 56 innocent people, many of them women and children, were burnt in a train?How can you lobby for the lifting of the ban on SIMI, an organisation which is suspected of having planted bombs in many Indian cities, killing hundreds of innocent people, while advocating a ban on the Bajrang Dal, which attacked some churches after an 84-year-old swami and his followers were brutally murdered?There is no logic in journalism in this country when it applies itself to minorities. Christians are supposedly only two per cent of the population in India, but look how last Sunday many major television channels showed live the canonisation ceremony of Sister Alphonsa, an obscure nun from Kerala and see how Union Minister Oscar Fernandes led an entire Indian delegation to the Vatican along with the Indian Ambassador. It would be impossible in England, for instance, which may have a two per cent Hindu minority, to have live coverage of a major Hindu ceremony, like the anointment of a new Shankaracharya. What were the 24×7 news channels, which seem to have deliberately chosen to highlight this non-event, trying to prove? That they are secular? Is this secularism?The headline of the story "India gets its first woman saint", run by many newspapers, both Indian and Western, is very misleading.For India has never been short of saints. The woman sage from over 3,000 years ago, Maithreyi, Andal, the Tamil saint from early in the first Millennium CE and Akkamahadevi, the 15th century saint from modern-day Karnataka, are but a few examples of women saints in India. What many publications failed to mention in the story is that this is the first woman Christian saint — not the first Indian woman saint. This statement is ok, when it comes, for instance, from the BBC, which always looks at India through the Christian prism (BBC ran a few months back an untrue and slanderous documentary on Auroville), but when it comes to the Indian media, it only shows the grave lack of grounding in Indian culture and history of most Indian journalists. As a result, they suffer from an inferiority complex.This inferiority complex, as expressed by television's live coverage of the canonisation of Sister Alphonsa, is a legacy of the British, who strove to show themselves as superior and Indian culture as inferior (and inheritor of the 'White Aryans', a totally false theory). Is it not time to institute schools of journalism, both private and public, where not only logic will be taught, but where students shall be made aware of Indian history and of the greatness of Indian culture, so that when they go out to report, they will use their own judgement and become Indian journalists, with a little bit of feeling, pride and love for their own country?

http://indiaview.wordpress.com/

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The new age news media

The new news channels in India have learned there lessons from the US media , which sensationalizes every thing, which is making news viewing in India a bit complicated, as Indian we don't have the habit of knowing the personal lives of others, we are more like the French people. we don't care what happens inside the house but try to behave in the public , that is why we have a CM in T.N who has 2 houses. but we don't care. The news readers in the TIMES NOW try to shock you with there news items, but to tell you truth , the news reader in the channel are really good looking.

Don't try to call there the phone no. which is normally displayed on there screen on some shows, because there won't be any one to pick up the phone. I have called the channel 5 to 6 times with out any reply, and if, by any chances some one picks up the call, they will ask your name and hang up the call. ( Line not disconnected)

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Australia dose it again

The Australian team under pressure is targeting Gautam Gambhir this time, The OZ's knows the how to play the mind game and then even know that they will not be penilised for what ever they do on the pitch,it is always the player from the sub continent who will be pulled up.

Should the ICC look into this issue.

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In India, corruption is just a way of life

By Joginder Singh (DC -Chennai)

The way a country’s administration is run has vital bearing on its citizens. It is a test of good or bad governance. Revealing how the common man is plagued by corruption, right under the nose of the Central government, in October 2008, 15 officials of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) were arrested on charges of bribery and extortion. These arrests were made after a month-long sting operation. It appears that the accused had been forcibly collecting sums up to Rs 30,000 as “protection money” on a monthly basis from shopkeepers.

In a positive new trend, common people are now playing a more active role in conducting sting operations. One such operation was conducted by a property dealer last year. More than 100 traffic personnel (in 30 different areas in the Capital) were caught on camera accepting bribes from Blueline bus operators. A vigilance branch probe into the sting operation established their identities and led to the suspension of 98 policemen: 11 sub-inspectors, 11 assistant sub-inspectors, 10 head-constables and 66 constables.

The reason behind the rise in “petty” corruption is the wide range of powers given to petty enforcement functionaries. At least in the national capital and other big towns there is a pro-active media that raises issues of petty corruption. The farther a place is from the seat of power, the more difficult it is to tackle this problem. In fact, corruption has become a happy compromise over compliance of outdated regulations.

Every government talks of ending the “inspector raj”. But every new law enacted has added one or two more inspectors to the already existing plethora of inspectors. At a recent function, after counting the number of functionaries concerned with the running of any industry, I arrived at the conclusion that at least 35 different inspectors visit an industrial unit. I was immediately corrected by an industrialist who said that the number has gone up to 65 with visits from inspectors from health, electricity, labour, municipal, water, environment, sanitary, weights and measures and many other departments.

Corruption is a preferred choice for the simple reason that pointing out what is wrong is not only time consuming, but also one is not sure if the complaint will ever be redressed. Some time ago, I met a friend who edits and publishes a specialised magazine. He had been working out of his home that happens to be in an area which is both a bazaar and a residential area. He told me his home-office was sealed as the official who came for the sealing drive did not consider his magazine a part of the media though the magazine is registered with the Registrar of Newspapers. My friend is now paying Rs 1,000 a month for working from his own home. When I asked him why he didn’t complain, he said it may take months, if not years, for the court to give its final verdict. He had a choice of going to court and running around for months, or buying peace of mind for Rs 1,000 a month.

This year, Transparency International (TI) has placed India two points lower on the Corruption Perception Index compared to its position in 2007. The only saving grace is that compared to its neighbours, India seems to be doing well. Pakistan, for instance, is at the 140th position compared to India’s 74th. Nepal and Sri Lanka are ranked 135 and 96 respectively. China is ranked one place above India. A study by TI and the Centre for Media Studies found that three-fourth of citizens think that the level of corruption in public services has been going up. They believe that there is no active and sustained civil society movement. And that most efforts are sporadic, localised and short-lived and never quite acquire the character of a larger movement.

The main causes of corruption are lack of transparency and accountability in the system, absence of an effective corruption reporting mechanism and lack of honesty in government officials. People feel that acceptance of corruption has become a way of life, custom and culture. Even if a person is caught taking bribe, it takes years to punish him judicially.

To end corruption, the government should outsource services wherever possible. Public service departments cannot cope with all the demands of India’s large population, especially in the field of education and health. In this scenario, departments should purchase outputs instead of insisting on giving inputs. Also, each department should have realistic and measurable action standards (not just statement of intent) for checking corruption and malpractices within. Corruption can go down only when we ourselves become honest and by following Gandhiji who said: “Be the change you want in others.” Public servants and politicians are corrupt because we are willing to pay them for getting things done. Let each one of us do some thing to fight this evil.

Joginder Singh is a former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation

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US economy: A jalopy with flat tyres

By Bob Herbert

The closer you look at the current economic crisis, the more harrowing it becomes.

The focus in the presidential campaign has been almost entirely on the struggles faced by the middle class — on families worried about their jobs, their mortgages, their retirement accounts and how to pay for college for their kids.

Each nauseating plunge in the Dow heightens their anxiety. Each company that goes under and each government report showing joblessness on the rise intensifies their fear.

No one knows how to quell the uncertainty. And no one is even talking about the poor.

Alan Greenspan, uncharacteristically befuddled, went up to Capitol Hill on Thursday and lamented that some sort of fissure had erupted in his previously impregnable worldview. For Mr Greenspan ("I still do not understand exactly how it happened"), this is a moment of intellectual anxiety.

But if we are indeed caught up in the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression, the ones who will fare the worst are those who already are poor or near-poor. There are millions of them, and yet they remain essentially invisible. A step down for them is a step into destitution.

Listen to Dr Irwin Redlener, president of the Children’s Health Fund, which he founded with the singer-songwriter Paul Simon to bring health services to poor and homeless children: "First of all, at least in the short term, we can expect more families will become homeless as foreclosures continue to mount and jobs become harder to hold and more difficult to find. As jobs disappear and employers begin trimming expenses, we can foresee people losing health insurance, swelling the ranks of the medically uninsured."

"I don’t think the healthcare system can bear another five million or more people uninsured and economically fragile. More people without insurance will crowd into the nation’s hospital emergency rooms when medical problems become too severe to ignore or there is no other access to basic health services. Such a trend will have a seismic impact on our healthcare system."

Few Americans have noticed, but a tremendous number of hospitals, from Boston to Los Angeles, are in serious, even dire, financial trouble.

A survey of 4,500 hospitals by the New York consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal found that more than half were technically insolvent or at risk of insolvency.

The current economic downturn, combined with an anticipated surge in patients without health insurance, will only worsen what is already a crisis.

The nation’s financial system was all-but-overwhelmed by the mortgage crisis because none of the nation’s leaders paid serious enough attention to the widespread symptoms of what turned out to be a metastasizing disease.

A similar situation exists on a number of important fronts right now: the deteriorating national infrastructure, the woefully inadequate public school system, our self-defeating energy policies, healthcare. Symptoms of serious trouble are staring us in the face, but no one is mounting an adequate response.

When a new President takes office in January, the temptation will be to delay bold action on these fronts until the overall economic situation improves.

That is the kind of mistake (like ignoring the housing and credit bubbles until it was too late or refusing to heed the pre-Katrina warnings in New Orleans) that opens the door to additional crises.

The Alvarez & Marsal study noted that at many community hospitals the physical plant itself is in bad shape because capital funding had to be curtailed because of budget shortfalls.

"There are scores of hospitals that are slowly asphyxiating and slipping into insolvency," the report said, and added, "as they divert capital dollars to fund operations".

"For most of these hospitals, it is only a matter of time before they hit a ‘sudden’ liquidity crisis and cannot make payroll without entering insolvency and being forced into restructuring their finances and operations."

Dr Redlener, who is also a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said: "The federal government currently strains to pay hospitals more than $35 billion each year to cover the costs of the uninsured. That money comes from general tax revenue, and it is a budget line that will need to be increased if we don’t want to see an epidemic of hospital closures."

Most important, of course, is a revamping (in a sane way) of the health insurance system.

There are no good scenarios in the offing. The markets are in turmoil. Banks are being nationalised. The US auto industry has the look of a jalopy with four flat tires.

The evidence of decline and decay is everywhere around us.

There has never been a time since World War II when the nation was more in need of a presidential administration with a comprehensive vision and the ability to lead on several fronts at once.

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In the Cold

Srinjoy Chowdhury,
Senior Editor, TIMES NOW



Before we begin this quirky little tale, here are the numbers. India, a country of 1.1 billion people has an army of 1.1 million soldiers. Thirty thousand are officers and almost at the top of the pyramid, after considerable winnowing, are left about two hundred major-generals. Sixty of them make it to lieutenant-general and of course, there can be only one chief. But just think, two hundred out of many thousands means drastic pruning at every stage. Men are separated from the well, not so capable men and eventually, just a handful has the right to be called ‘General Saab’.

Even among this elite club of 200, there are a chosen few. These are the three-dozen men with a future, men who get to command a division, a unit of about 12,000 men. And among the divisions, many of which are strung along India’s difficult borders is 3 Infantry Division.

Commanding 3 Division is quite a job. First, it’s not really a division but virtually a corps, a unit that usually comprises three divisions. For, it defends 1,160 kms of India’s border, and perhaps, some of the most difficult areas. The gentleman in charge of 3 Division faces China and Pakistan. And yes, a considerable chunk of the division is parked in Siachen, the world’s highest and most inhospitable battlefield. There is also Ladakh, easily -40 degrees Celsius in winter and barren throughout the year, not to mention the small matter of the increasingly aggressive Chinese army on your doorstep. Siachen, weather-wise is even worse. If soldiers didn’t die in the mid-Eighties because of the shelling, the cold killed them.

One man gets the responsibility to be GOC. And he should be quite a guy: capable enough to handle a division as challenging as 3 Divison and therefore, good enough to do better.

Now, for the sting in the tail. Well, tale actually. Look at the list of the last eight major-generals who commanded the division and you see what the army euphemistically calls 100 per cent wastage. The list begins with P.K. Renjen, a gunner officer. After his command, he held several other posts and faded away. His successor, V.S Badhwar, is remembered for all the wrong reasons, being the general in charge when the intrusions into Kargil unexpectedly happened in 1999. Several thousand Pakistani soldiers had entered and dug in, but his patrols hadn’t noticed a thing till they were fired upon.

Expectedly, nothing much happened to Badhwar, but his successor Sheru Thapliyal’s case is even more curious. He had had a good career but they say you can’t choose your parents. Well, it isn’t easy to choose your bosses either. Both his bosses are remembered as men who rarely gave anything more than 7-7.5 on ACRs of officers, a way of ensuring a long, lingering professional death. Thapliyal and his successor Rakesh Das, who was defence attaché in Pakistan, fell to the same ACR trap and were sent on their way.

A few more good men followed: Ravi Malhan and P. Rajagopal, both paratroopers and ‘Tally’ Sidhu, an armoured corps officer, all consigned to obscurity. That brings us to Anil Lal, just dismissed from the army after being under the scanner for a series of alleged un-officer like activities.

Of the eight, two have clearly messed up for different reasons and needed to be sent home. What defies explanation is why the other six generals were made to walk into the sunset. Sure, you will hear how much of a pyramid the army is—200 major-generals and 60 lieutenant-generals-- but as far as explanations go, it is about the lamest one you can find. The man you send to command 3 Division should be and is hand-picked: he cannot be just any major-general but a man with a future, a man with sufficient capability, with élan to face the Chinese and the Pakistanis at the same time. What’s the bottom line then? You’re either sending a lame-duck for one of the most sensitive jobs in the army or you’re sending a good man and then, shafting him after he finishes a really tough assignment! Or, is there another explanation that no one knows about?

There is something that we do know…. One army commander remembered for leaving behind broken careers courtesy, his tough markings, wrote to his army chief in the evening of his career. He admitted he had been a little tough and could anything be done. Some good did come out of it and a major general marching towards obscurity was rescued but it was too late for a couple of GOCs.

The 3 Division hoodoo has got so bad that some officers, rumour goes, would rather opt out of commanding a division comprising 25,000 troops, 675 officers who are part of 23 battalions, including Ladakh Scouts, ITBP and Vikas units. A normal infantry division has only nine.

The question top officers in the army now ask is: “How long will this run of bad luck continue?”

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Rape of a Nun in Kandhmal

The nun who was allegedly raped in Kandhamal in Orissa came before the media on 24-oct and recounted her trauma, which is understandable , but unwilling to cooperate with the Orissa police to identify the culprits is shocking, The SC has already rejected CBI probe into the incident. If every victim wants a CBI probe , then why do we need a police force (A waste of Manpower and money?).
I understand that some people in the police force did not help her in the hour of need, even so, blaming the whole police force is not some thing which is acceptable.

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India not ready for WAR

The latest audit report by Comptroller and Auditor Generalon (CAG) on the armed forces comes up with two stunning disclosures.

1. More than half of India's submarines are not battle-ready.
2. India's radars are too old and too few to provide any credible defence against an air attack.

It went on to state that only 48 per cent of Indian Naval ageing submarines are available for waging war, should India be attacked. The rest are in repair and refit.
Nearly 50% of the of the Indian Navy's submarines are in there last stage of life and nearly 63% of the submmarine fleet would be reddy for phase-out by 2012.

It also stated that the numbers are too few and way below apporved force levels which was apporved 23 years ago.

The air defence radars are in that same state, adding to this submarine-launched Klub land-attack cruise missile, is malfunctioning.


The report also indictment of the lack of hygiene and common sense in India's defence acquisition process

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Police will never act against Hindus

By -- Surendra Gangan (g_surendra@dnaindia.net)
DNA

Many Muslim organisations feel perpetrators of violence are dealt with according to their religion

Muslim organisations are not ready to believe that police will act strictly if Hindu outfits are found to be involved in the Malegaon blast.

Editor of Urdu daily Hindustan Sarfraz Arzoo said that following his pervious experiences, he is not ready to believe that the Hindu perpetrators will be punished. “What is wrong in expecting a fair investigation of the blast and punishment to the people involved? But the perpetrators are treated according to their religion. The accused in the Nanded blast that happened in early 2007 were let off by the police as they were Hindus,” he said.

Samajwadi Party’s state unit chief Abu Asim Azmi said police have always been soft on the Hindu outfits which are involved in terrorist activities. “Whenever bomb blasts take place, Muslims and particularly youths are picked up from areas like Govandi, Mumbra, Naya Nagar and many innocents are booked for no fault of theirs. Police have ruined the lives of well-educated Muslim youths like Khwaja Younis and Dr Matin, who were booked for the Ghatkopar blast few years ago. There are incidents when agitations by the Muslim community have been answered with firing, but police don’t even raise laathis against Raj or Bal Thackeray’s party workers who resort to violence.”

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not ready to accept that any Hindu outfit is involved in the Malegaon blasts case. On the contrary, it says there has been a campaign to spread wrong information in the society. “Police force is being used for political gimmick or pacifying public outburst. The force is totally demoralised. It is made to leak such information without having completed the investigation in a case,” said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has denied its connection with Pradnya Singh, an accused arrested by police in the Malegaon blasts case, and has blamed media for announcing the organisation’s involvement without any firm proof.

ABVP national deputy president Milind Marathe has threatened newspapers for involving his organisation in the Malegaon case. “This is a trial started by the media that has published reports without verifying any fact. This has been a conspiracy of some forces and political minds because our organisation has started fighting against terrorism,” he said.

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Gilchriste - Tendulkar a liar

Gilchrist in his autobiography "True Colours My Life", being released next week, has accused Tendulkar of being a liar and dose not have the sport's man ship after loosing the test, he has even called Tendulkar's witness in the "Monkeygate" affair a joke. He said that when Tendulkar told the initial hearing that he could not hear what was said, he was "certain he was telling the truth" because he was "a fair way away".

But Tendulkar told the appeal that Harbhajan used a Hindi term that sounded like "monkey" to Australian ears. Harbhajan's suspension was quashed, infuriating the Australians. Tendulkar has be accused of many things like ball tampering but never un-sport's manship.
Is this a poly from Gilchrist to sell his book and get some cheap publicity?

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Raj Thackeray arrested -- Was it too late and too little ?

Arresting Raj Thackeray now? what was the government doing all this time? When Congress was making a hue and cry over violence in Orissa Mr. Thackeray was doing what he is best known for , dividing Indian on some flimsy grounds. I have written about Mr.Thackeray a few months ago trying to find what the Maha. Government was going about home. The Congress Government did not try to stop Mr.Thackeray.

Why is EC keeping quite? why can't they debar MNS. Is the Congress party is trying to create a division in Mr.Bal Thackeray's party? Some thing should be done about this and quickly.

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No Punjabi loses an election in Canada

Report in IBNLIVE.COM

It is balle-balle time for over half a million Punjabis in Canada as all the nine Indian-Canadians elected as MPs in Tuesday's election are of Punjabi origin.

In fact, the new parliament now has three turbaned Sikh MPs as Tim Uppal of the ruling Conservative Party joins Gurbax Malhi and Navdeep Bains of the opposition Liberal Party in the 308-member House of Commons.

Uppal, the 34-year-old Canadian-born property investor, has been elected from Edmonton Sherwood Park for the first time.

Another first-time Punjabi MP is Devinder Shory who has been elected from Calgary Northeast, beating two fellow Indian-Canadians - Sanam Kang of the Liberal Party and Vinay Dey of the New Democratic Party (NDP).

Shory, who is a practising lawyer in Calgary, previously tried his luck in the Alberta provincial elections.

Malhi, who was the first turbaned Sikh to become an MP in Canada in 1993, is back in parliament for the sixth time.

"The secret of my success are my diverse constituents - 50 percent of whom are white. I listen to them, I am where they want me to be and I raise their concerns in parliament," Malhi said.

Expressing happiness over the election of another turbaned Sikh, he said: "It is good to have more of our people in positions of importance. Tim Uppal's election is good news for us. He will help spread the message about ourselves - who we are."

In his new term, Malhi said, his priority is to facilitate Canadian visas for visitors from Punjab.

"Right now, the Canadian office in Chandigarh does not issue visas to most people. I introduced a motion on the issue in parliament last year for a bond system and I will do it again now," he said.

The six-time MP said he will also introduce a motion to check fraud marriages by Indian-Canadians in Punjab.

"The motion will make it mandatory that if someone goes to Punjab to get married and bring his or her spouse, he or she should not be allowed to remarry for five years if they divorce after coming to Canada," he said.

Deepak Obhrai, who was a parliamentary secretary in the last government, recorded his fifth victory in Calgary East seat, securing 66.5 percent of the vote.

Chandigarh-educated Obhrai, who is expected to be given a higher position when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces his new team soon, said: "It is up the prime minister to decide. I am not sure about anything because there are many contenders."

Canada's first Indian-origin MP Nina Grewal was elected for the third time from Fleetwood-Port Kells in British Columbia province, as was fellow Punjabi Ruby Dhalla from Brampton-Springdale on the outskirts of Toronto.

Navdeep Bains retained Mississauga Brampton South and Sukh Dhaliwal Newton-North Delta for the Liberal Party.

Former Canadian health minister Ujjal Dosanjh managed to win by only 779 votes in Vancouver South, securing 16,774 votes as against 15,995 by Wai Young of the ruling party.

"We (Punjabis) are more than half a million among 33 million Canadians. To have nine Punjabi-origin MPs in the 308-member parliament is our big achievement," said Balwant Sanghera of the Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA) in British Columbia.

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Singur after TATA Nano - III

Land prices drop in Singur
Report in Times Of India

Party time for landowners in Singur is over. As feared, land prices have started falling in and around the area, after the Nano pullout.
This has sent shockwaves among landowners and brokers who wanted to make fast money by selling the Nano dream to investors from Kolkata and other parts of the country.

Meet Mithai Ghosh, a Singur-based land broker. Ghosh played a gamble. He purchased 20 acres of land bang opposite the Tata shed across the Durgapur Expressway at a premium, hoping that the ancillaries with the mother plant would finally be shifted to this plot. It didn't happen. Now Ghosh has no takers for the land at such a high price.

"I, along with some of my friends, had bought the land after the Tatas started setting up the factory. We thought that we would make a kill, because companies from various parts of the country kept calling us, offering three times the existing rates. We chose to hold on to the plot expecting land prices to rise further. We never thought that the Tatas would pull out of Singur especially when the construction work was nearing completion," Ghosh said. The price of the plot has gone down to Rs 20,000 per cottah, which amounts to Rs 12 lakh an acre — the initial offer by the government for double-crop land.

Satya Prakash Das spent all his money in land along the Durgapur Expressway. "I purchased five acres along the expressway at Rs 4 lakh a cottah. It was about two years ago, when the Tatas started setting up the Nano factory. The prices have started falling. Now I don't know what to do because I can’t wait indefinitely," said Das, a Singur resident.

Kushal Saha, former pradhan of the Trinamool Congress-run Beraberi gram panchayat, has met with a similar plight. "We have land in this area, adjoining the Tata compound. At one point of time, brokers offered me Rs 5 lakh a cottah. But now, they have stopped coming to my house,” said Saha. Landowners near the 997-acre Tata compound have all come to realise what they lost. This apart, real estate brokers from Kolkata, who bought huge tracts of land within 20 kilometres of the project area, are left in the lurch.

"Initially we made huge money. We bought land as low as Rs 3 lakh an acre when the project was announced in May 2006. A lot of companies and real estate groups bought land from us. We kept on buying land even Dankuni, 12 kilometres away from Singur. But this time, it didn't pay. Land prices in the area reached Rs 24 lakh an acre. The high price was coming in the way of the second phase of investment. Companies from Mumbai and even abroad such as Indonesia put off their projects because of the abnormal price," a Kolkata based real estate broker said.

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Should BBCI team be the only Indian team ?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, is the apex governing body for cricket in India. The board was formed in 1929. It is a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. The BCCI often uses government-owned stadiums across the country at a nominal annual rent. It is a private club consortium. Basically to become a member of a state-level association, you need to be introduced by another member and also pay an annual fee. The state-level clubs select their representatives (secretaries) who in turn select the BCCI officials. As for any private club, BCCI or the state-level associations are not required to make their balance sheets public. {Source from WIKIPEDIA}

The Board of Control for Cricket in India was established in December 1928 as the single national governing body for all cricket in India. It is headquartered in Mumbai. {Source BCCI web site http://bcci.tv}

Who gave the right to the BCCI to clam that they are the only team which can represent the country. BCCI is not a government organization and it is not entitled to show its revenues to the public. If it clams that it represents Indian, should the Indian people have a say in it's functions ?

Why cant any other board like ICL clam that they are the representatives for the country in the world stage?

Why can't the Indian government take over the BCCI and run it, why can't the BCCI be placed under Sports Authority of Indian which is under Sports Minister?

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Singur after TATA Nano - II

Report from THE HINDU

Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, along with Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apprise them of the situation at Singur in West Bengal. They demanded that the State government be asked to honour an agreement to return land to farmers who had not accepted compensation for their plots acquired for Tatas’ ancillary unit.

Seeking dismissal of the State government for the “breakdown of a constitutional agreement,” Ms. Banerjee told journalists here that she was not looking for the 600 acres earmarked for Tatas’ Nano project.

“There are many Tatas, anyone can come there. We want the 400 acres acquired for the adjoining ancillary unit returned to farmers who did not want to part with their land and who have not accepted any compensation. The government will have to implement it or go out of power.”

The Trinamool chief said nobody knew why Tatas withdrew from Singur. “They withdrew unilaterally and the government withdrew unilaterally. The Left parties withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance government over the nuclear agreement, while they themselves failed to honour the agreement on Singur. We will continue to fight this socially, legally and politically.”

Accompanied by leaders of the West Bengal SP and Janata Dal (United), among others, Mr. Amar Singh said at the joint press conference that they briefed the Prime Minister and the President on the Singur farmers facing tough time due to the policies of the State government. “No jan andolan can run for so long unless the people are with it.”

On Mr. Ratan Tata’s remarks after he shifted the Nano project to Gujarat, Mr. Amar Singh said: “To say Ms. Mamata, who was fighting for the poor, was the bad M and Mr. Modi [Gujarat Chief Minister] was the good M was a personal attack on Ms. Banerjee for which she should sue him. Mr. Tata should decide whether he wants to be an industrialist or politician.”

Mr. Singh said he would raise the issue of special economic zones with the Congress leadership when the UPA-SP Coordination Committee met here on Friday.

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MP's from T.N to quit over Sri Lanka

Mp's from T.N have given the central government 2 weeks time to stop any military aid to Sri Lanka and try to stop the fighting between LTTE and the Sri Lankan army or they have threatened to quit there post. The Sri Lankan army is in the final stage of clearing out LTTE and the MP's in Tamil Nadu want to give some time to the rebels, so that they can re group and strengthen there positions. Political commentator S Murari adds: "Whenever the LTTE suffers serious reverses, pro-LTTE voices protest. Even the two Dravidian giants, the DMK and AIADMK have got sucked into this competitive chauvinism."

Is it not supporting a terrorist organization in an foreign country?

Tamil people are suffering in Sri Lanka because of LTTE, I thing we should support Sri Lankan army in this hour of need and see to that the terrorist LTTE is dismantled for good, the Indian government can help Sri Lanka in negotiations.

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Gandhiji wouldn't have approved Smoking Ban

By all accounts Gandhiji was an abstemious sort of chap. Tee-total non-smoker, who renounced the material world and was a celibate to boot. So on the face of it, no one raised an eyebrow when Union Health Minister Dr. Ambumani Ramadoss decided to ban smoking in public places on Gandhi Jayanti.

Then again the ascetical Father of the Nation was a humanist and everyone just assumed that imposing the ban on his birthday, in the larger interest of public health, would have met with Gandhiji's approval. But had the good doctor been well versed with his 'Gandhi', he would never have instituted the ban on the Mahatma's birthday to begin with.

Sure, a ban on smoking is politically correct and may well be high on symbolism, but sadly it does a great disservice to Mahatma's philosophy and its praxis.

For Gandhiji, 'rational discussion and persuasion', not blanket bans, were the best way to deal with a situation of conflict. Especially with regards to a conflict such as this: A cabinet minister imposing his will upon a resentful public not convinced of the logic behind the firman.

Indeed the debate over the ban has focussed not so much on its benefits but on how it infringes upon the individual's right to chose. Be that as it is, Gandhiji would have frowned upon the method employed by Dr Ramadoss.

The Satyagrahi in Gandhiji would have relied upon a reasoned approach. He would have wanted the contending parties, the minister and the public, 'to discuss, look at the issue from each other's point of view, appreciate the force of each other's arguments and arrive at a view based on the insights of both and acceptable to both'.

This as we all know wasn't quite the route taken by Dr Ramadoss or even those lobbying against his anti-tobacco campaign. Frustrated by the strong backlash his pronouncement elicited from the paying public, the minister went for broke. By imposing the ban, he brutally quashed debate. In the metaphysical universe it was an act of grave violence: A brutish desecration of rationale.

The non-violent cogitator in Gandhiji would have died a thousand deaths than resort to violence (ahimsa) of this variety. In Bapu's view the use of violence emphasises untruth and can never be the path to realising the truth.

This is primarily because the use of violence is predicated on the assumption that those resorting to it are 'absolutely right, the opponent absolutely wrong and that the violence would definitely achieve the desired result.'

Now we know that as far as the ban on smoking is concerned this is not entirely the case. Both the parties to this conflict - smokers and non-smokers - are at best only partially right. And the ban itself does not guarantee a result, morally questionable and practicably ineffectual as it is.

In the end analysis it is then fair to conclude that doctor Ramadoss's strong medicine would have left the Father of the Nation feeling ill at ease.

By Rahul Shivshankar, Senior Editor, TIMES NOW

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EU divided over Russian Talks

EU nations were divided over whether to resume
talks on a political and economic pact with Russia that were frozen in protest over its war with Georgia.

Germany and Italy led the campaign to resume discussions on trade, energy and political ties on Monday after Moscow withdrew its forces from parts of Georgia according to the terms of an EU-brokered cease-fire.

But some EU foreign ministers, led by Britain's David Miliband, said they wanted to see progress in talks on the future of the disputed Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia before pressing ahead with closer ties.

The debate will continue at a two-day EU summit starting tomorrow in Brussels, Belgium, officials said.

EU leaders agreed last month to suspend the talks to show their opposition to Moscow's invasion, a move that irked Russian officials. The leaders of the 27-nation bloc also ordered a review of overall ties and alternative energy sources. Russia supplies a third of the EU's oil and 40 per
cent of its natural gas.

Georgia's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said Russian military planes twice violated Georgian airspace yesterday over parts of South Ossetia and western Georgia. Russia's Defense Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told an EU foreign ministers meeting that Russian troops had left Georgian territory outside the separatist regions but had not withdrawn to positions held before the five-day war broke out Aug 7.

Kouchner, who was in Georgia last week, said "there were problems that remain." He said the presence of Russian troops in portions of the breakaway regions that had been under Georgian control before the war, including Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, a broad swath of South Ossetia, and the town of Akhalgori were still of concern to EU nations.

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Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) is working

Last week, the Japanese lunar mission SELENE (Koguya), which was unveiled in 2007 and is now orbiting the moon was successfully tracked by Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN), which is an intelligent communications infrastructure, designed and set up by the Indian Space Research Organization to transmit and receive signals from Chandrayaan 1.

According to S. K. Shiva Kumar, Director, ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command (ISTRAC), “We have been able to establish downlink with the spacecraft with the help of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).”

He further added, “We have also been able to bring uplink fairly quickly, establish contact with the spacecraft and track the spacecraft successfully. That has given us ample confidence. If you have tracked a similar object closer to the moon and have been able to establish links with it with good margins, to that extent your comfort level is high. You don’t have to worry about our capability to do [it] with Chandrayaan.”

The IDSN has been set up 40 km away from Bangalore at a village called Byalalu. Cahndrayaan, which is expected to be launched on 22nd October, is all dependent upon this set up, since it is the constant communication link to the lunar satellite from the ground. It has been set up with the aim to track and also to control orbit and housekeeping operations for the entire duration of the moon mission, which is of about two years.

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Trouble for NANO in Gujarat

Congress leaders in Gujarat doesn't want any credit going Mr.Modi's way. The state Congress is up in arms along with the farmers saying the compensation given for their land is not enough. The Congress in Gujarat says they want an RTI into the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Tata Motors and state government. The Congress clam "This land worth of Rs 1000 crore has been given at almost no cost to the Tatas for their project of only Rs 1500 crore. This is just not only state exchequer lost its income but also the poor farmers have been deprived of their legitimate demands of compensation for their own land," said Arjun Modhvadia, leader of opposition. The farmers in Sanand are almost echoing the anti-Nano protestors in Bengal. The government has argued that this is government land and the farmers have no claim over it. But egged on by the Congress, the farmers in Sanand the site of the plant have intensified their protests. The farmers claim they are historic owners of the land and that the dispute is already in court. They have brought a new legal notice against the government for not compensating them.But many say that this is political posturing by the Congress, which unlike Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, cannot afford to escalate its anti-Nano protests. Congress leaders say that they welcome the Nano project as it benefits Gujarat. They are only asking for compensation for the farmers. Also, many of the Congress leaders are leading industrialists and have more than just a political stake in Gujarat's economic growth.

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Central Govt. to sack Orissa Govt.?

The nationwide revulsion at the confirmed rape of a 28-year-old nun in the troubled Kandhamal district of Orissa almost gave the UPA government at the Centre the requisite handle to dismiss the Naveen Patnaik Government. Having earlier sent a warning to the state government (though Article 355 was not invoked), a section of the Manmohan Singh government seriously believed that the imposition of President’s rule under Article 356 was the logical next step. It didn’t happen because Congressruled Assam also witnessed communal clashes and because there are multiple power centres in the Cabinet—each one negating the other.

Those with memories may recall that there was still a Congress government in Bhubaneshwar when the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to death in an inaccessible corner of Mayurbhanj district in Orissa on January 22, 1999.

The Vajpayee Government, which was then in power at the Center, sent its senior most Christian minister George Fernandes to the spot to reassure local Christians. The stress was on confidence building measures, not political recriminations.

That was because both the Centre and the state government knew the murder of Staines flowed from local tensions centred on competitive religiosity.

If the center is unwilling to dismiss the W.B and Assam Govt. then what right they have to sack Orissa Govt.?

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Chandrayaan-1 to moon without insurance

India's first moon mission Chandrayaan-1 which will blast off on 22nd Oct, the project which will cost Rs 386 crore, including Rs 100 crore for establishing Indian Deep Space Network near Bangalore that would receive the signals from the satellites.

The project in not covered under any insurance as Chandrayaan-1 is a scientific project, it would not require any insurance cover. “We have not taken any cover for this project,” S Satish, spokesperson of ISRO said. The Made-in-India rocket bearing the lunar spacecraft will lift off as per schedule provided the weather is right. As per the plan, the 1.5-ton Chandrayaan spacecraft will take approximately eight days to travel about 240,000 miles before reaching its final orbit 60 miles above the surface of the moon. A crash landing of a lunar vehicle on the moon's surface is also planned.

According to insurance officials the cost of insuring space launches is extremely high due to high rate of failure. Also the risk almost entirely reinsured since Indian markets do not have the depth to cover launches on their own. Because of the high rate of failure the premium rates vary between 25-33% of the sum insured. “ISRO has a good track record of launches and can go for self insurance,” the official said.

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Gov. to ban Bajrang Dal ?

An influential section of the UPA, including Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Minister for Steel Ram Vilas Paswan, are calling for a ban on the Bajrang Dal,the same people who oppose banning SIMI. The role of the Bajrang Dal will be discussed as a part of the Home Ministry report sought by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The advocacy has gained heft with the Samajwadi Party transforming itself into a supporter of UPA.

The National Minorities Commission has recommended a ban on the Bajrang Dal for its alleged role in the attacks on churches in Karnataka. Which never opened there mouth about banning SIMI.

OK lets us ban Bajrang Dal and also ban conversion, who about that? The root issue for all these violence is conversion, why can't we ban it, The Indian Constitution gives the guaranty for following his own religion but never approves conversion. So people can not clam that the Constitution gives them the right to convert people.

India is the only country in world which has majority Hindu population why are we not taking any action to save that image. Hinduism never believes in converting. That is why Hindus are targeted by other religions.

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Dangerous politics from Amar Singh & SP

What is Amar Singh and the SP is trying to do to India, I have seen them raising the communal card in all the places, Only in India we see politician lining to visit a terror suspect houses as soon as he is arrested, whihc shows that they don't belive in the police force of this country.

Lately Mr. Amar Singh has doubted the shootout in the NCR and has tried to dis fame a honest cop. If this type of politics is made to grow in this country we will not a country in next 50 to 60 years

What are these politicians trying to archive by supporting a terror suspects, is it the vote bank politics? What about the people who lost there loved ones and the people who have suffered because of terror acts? Do they not count for the votes?

The present central government is sandwiched between saving the country and saving there own government, and every one in this country knows, which will be saved.

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Tata Nano in Gujarat

Farmers in villages adjoining Gujarat's Sanand have welcomed Tatas' decision to relocate the Rs 1 lakh-Nano car project there and appeared ready to give their land for construction of approach roads to the site. After scouting many sites in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the Tatas decided to set up the project at Sanand, near Ahmedabad, where the state government will give 1,000 acres land from the Anand Agricultural University (AAU).

"We welcome Tatas for setting up their Nano car plant in the state. There is no trace of objection from farmers of the villages around the site," Bharatbhai Vaghela, a farmer of Kalana village which is near to the AAU farm told media."Farmers are even ready to give their land for approach roads to the site of AAU," Vaghela said, adding this is good for the area and the state.

"I am glad to make the sacrifice of my land for the Tatas project," another farmer-turn-industrialist Ravubhai Vaghela, who holds substantial land in Khoda and Naranpur village from where the approach road to the site is likely to pass, said.The new project site was finalised last evening and a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) between the Tatas and state government will be signed later in the day.

The site, just 30 km. from city, will be an ideal place for the Tatas as it has close connectivity to National Highway-8 connecting Rajkot and Ahmedabad.Tatas Nano project faced a lot of resistance from farmers in Singur in West Bengal.The site is also near the proposed Dholera port to be set up as part of the industrial development project as part of the implementation of Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor, officials said, adding it will help Tatas in future to export the car.

It is also near to Rajkot where some of the components for the Nano car plants are prepared by ancillary units, they said while noting that local people at Sanand are happy as they think the project will revive the economy of the region."The immediate fallout of the project coming to Sanand will be increase in land prices and it will benefit farmers surrounding the plant a lot," Bharat Vaghela said.

Also the local people hope to get jobs in the huge plant, he said.Expectations are also high among landless labourers of the villages around the site."We expect to get jobs in the Nano car plant. If the project gives jobs to the landless labourers then it is very good for the entire area," Hiteshkumar Kedarsinh, a landless labourer working in the land of Virendrasinh Vaghela said.

The land which is being offered to Tatas is farmland of AAU which was being used to grow grass.
The AAU has already transferred the land to the state government for handing over around 1,000 acres to the Tatas, officials of the university said.

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Singur after TATA Nano

What is in store for Singur after TATA's pullout, many people's dreams were shattered, most of the people were looking forward for a better life in the further, which is now gone in thin air because of mindless politics, who are the real losers , the political class? no way , they have other issue to raise,
every one will forget Singur in the near further and the people will slip in to poverty again , the data available shows increase in number of savings accounts, people trained for new jobs,that in one year the Nano plant has already had positive economic impact on life in Singur. As other states line up to offer the best deal to TATA, hopefully the destitute landowners of Singur (ultimately they must benefit) will start thinking for themselves rather than listening to vested political interests. I read a good article in Times of India the other day "When everyone lost"

Which clearly shows that everyone in W.B have lost. I am unable to think about the people of Singur , who were shows a slice of good life and was taken away from them when they got used to it. what a tragedy.

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Indian Laws still ANCIENT

Law of the land determines the fate of the Nation. Development of a Nation also depends on the law maker, the law made by them, legal system of the country, the administration, rules and regulations and the enforcing and the governing body. It is said that if a law is well made and it has a relevant and specific purpose it is easy to implement it.

Further, with the changing times, the laws and the rules and regulations should also be changed and amended from time to time. But unfortunately in our country, the parliament is not so proactive that they look into the outdated laws and amend suitably according to the changing times.

For an instance, the Punjab Excise Act still says that when you open a bar, you have to call the ‘DHOL WALA’ ( Drummer ) to announce its inaugural. Imagine, that a high society lounge is being inaugurated in a posh area and a DHOLWALA has to be called in the inauguration and get the photographs clicked and submit them to the excise authorities to get the license. A funny sight indeed.

Again, the Indian Factories Act stipulates that each factory in India should have a water pot in the factory premises to provide drinking water to the employees. In today world, no one would install a water pot in its factory but would rather prefer to install a water cooler. Even today authorities inspecting the factory pressing for the water pot. The authorities even fined the factory for not having a water pot in its premises. You all will be surprised to know that the huge multiplexes ( commercial malls etc) are also categorized as a ‘FACTORY’ according to the statute. Now imagine that all the multiplexes in the country having to put a water pot in their premises.

One more funny but true instance of law not being amended can be seen in the Punjab Police Act. According to the act the Punjab police has to send daily reports to its headquarters in Lahore. So Pakistani President Pervez Mussharaf has one more reason to be angry with India as according to the Punjab Police Rules 1914, the act stipulates that the Punjab Police has to keep in touch with it head quarters in Lahore on a daily basis and the rules have not been changed til today—hence they still remain in force. So in a way, the head quarters of Punjab Police is still in Pakistan — A country with which we have fought 3 wars.

If any reader can find any more FUNNY Indian Laws , post a comment.

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10 Reasons to marry an Indian Man

I though this post was funny……

• 10. They come in a family pack. You get a mother, a father, a few sisters-in-law, half dozen cousins, and countless relatives for free.
• 9. They would never leave you. They get fat and lazy too fast and no woman will ever be interested in them.
• 8. You will never get tired of hubby improvement projects. They come with countless imperfections and guaranteed to be really slow learners.
• 7. Despite their crude exterior and rude attitude, they are docile at heart. They are well trained by their mother to follow orders from woman of the house. You are in control.
• 6. They would be grateful all their lives; all other 37 girls they interviewed turned them down.
• 5. They will be available all the time. They do not have any friends or social life or passion to keep them busy.
• 4. You never have to worry about their past girlfriends: most likely they never had one, or in the rare case they had a girlfriend, she is too busy erasing the memory.
• 3. You will earn the sympathy of everyone, even your worst enemy.
• 2. They will stop harassing you once you marry them.

And number one reason for marrying an Indian man

1. For the rest of your life whenever you say “I could have done better,” you will be right

I found it here…. http://6mile.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/10-reasons-to-marry-an-indian-man/

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Chiranjeevi's fans allege neglect

It seems all is not well in actor-turned-politician Chrjaneevi's political party Prajarajyam. His followers allege that Chiranjeevi has no time for them.

The celluloid magic is not working for Chiranjeevi, who began his political stint with words like “I know the suffering of poor, I understand their tears.”

The star has to contend with growing disillusionment in his fledging party in which many lower leaders have apparently felt sidelined. The actor’s party office in Hyderabad's elite Jubilee Hills is reportedly open only to select people.

“We came to the main office with a lot of expectation,” Pullaramana, a fan, said while another person told CNN-IBN that he had been waiting to see the actor for the last one month.

The coterie around the star is calling the shots and veteran politicians are not willing to take it lying down. Already a few, who had crossed over to this dream party, are saying that the party is over.

The common complaint is that it's a family-run establishment. His brother-in-law Allu Aravind, younger brothers Pavan Kalyan and Naga Babu keep a tight leash over things and even decide on who will get access to the leader.

Meanwhile, Spokesperson of Prajarajyam Parakala Prabhakar said, “A decision on Chiranjeevi cannot be arrived at by the number of people who have not met him. Around 5,000 people come to meet him everyday but he cannot meet all of them on the same day.”

Already, the actor's fan clubs and the new entrants are at loggerheads. The discontent is expected to come out in the open once Chiranjeevi begins his tour of the state on Gandhi Jayanti.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the TDP are happily watching the chaos. Unless, the actor-politician is able to overcome these extended teething troubles, his party may not become a real threat to the established parties in the state.

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Battle over Gay Rights

Chapter XVI, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code a piece of legislation in India introduced during British rule of India used to criminalize homosexual activity.It is also commonly referred to as the ‘Anti-sodomy Law’. The Section 377 was drafted in 1860 by Lord Macaulay as a part of the colonial project of regulating and controlling the British- and Indian-origin subjects, which reads:

* Unnatural sexual offenses: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with another person of the same sex shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

* Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section.

The law was erected in 1860 and that too not by Indians by the British , have we not grown from that time , even the British have accepted Gay rights, but the Home Minister who I thing is still in 1800 on not in the 21st century, the explanation which was given by the Home Ministry is

"Removal of section 377 will open floodgates of delinquent behavior".

Look at it, the man who is supposed to safeguard India , doesn't know what do with the bombs going off , but will appose scrapping a law which was erected nearly 150years ago, what a joke.

The right to select a life partner should be made a fundamental right, who are these guys who can tell us what is right and what is wrong, who gave them the right ? all the laws which were erected before 1947 should be reconsidered.

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